Your heart is one of the most important parts of the body. Keeping your heart healthy means filling your meals with foods like fresh fruits and veggies, plenty of fibre and good fats like omega-3, and cutting down on saturated fats, sugars, and heavily processed foods.

Although food isn’t the be-all and end-all of heart health, there are many foods that can help. As a Queensland-based logistics company, we have helped transport heart healthy foods all over the state. In this post, we share some tips for eating for your heart in Queensland.

Cardiovascular Disease in Australia

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death in Australia. In 2016 alone, more than 40,000 deaths were due to CVD, and despite efforts to spread awareness and preventive measures, it still is a major health problem in the country today.

Lifestyle is one major health factor when it comes to CVD. Poor diet, lack of exercise, and generally unhealthy living are the primary culprits. There are many things you can do to your food choices that can greatly impact the risk of heart disease, like including some of the heart healthy foods below – that just so happen to be found right here in Queensland.

Heart Foods in Queensland

In Queensland, our mild climate (with warm and humid temperatures) produces a diverse assortment of fruits and vegetables available throughout the year, a number of which are great for the heart.

Here’s a list of the best proven heart-healthy foods found here is Queensland:

Pineapple is especially abundant in the region of Yeppoon, Queensland. This sweet, juicy fruit packs a nutrient punch. Aside from its vitamin C content (which helps protects against heart disease) pineapple is rich in fibre and potassium. Fibre flushes out cholesterol in the body and prevents its absorption as well. Potassium has shown to decrease blood pressure, lower hypertension and reduce stroke risk.

Brassicas is a group of plants classified as cruciferous vegetables or mustard plants. This genus of plants includes broccoli, cauliflower, arugula, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, maca root, radish, bok choy, and more. Queensland is known for its wealth of brassicas, particularly broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts. What makes this plant group great when it comes to heart health is the high fibre and antioxidant contents, which make it a perfect cholesterol-lowering food. Cauliflower for example contains allicin, a key compound also found in garlic, which lowers cholesterol and reduces the risks of heart attack.

It’s important to note as well that the darker the brassica is, the higher its antioxidant content. With a wide selection of brassicas available in Queensland, you have many options to include in your diet.

Sweet potatoes are readily available from Brisbane to Rockhampton and all over Queensland throughout the year. This colourful vegetable is rich in fibre, which helps protect against heart diseases. It also has dense vitamin A content, packing a punch of antioxidants that protect against oxidative stress, which is the number one culprit of heart ailments.

Tomatoes are in abundance all over the state and are readily available throughout the year. The ripe tomato’s bright red colour is due to its rich lycopene content. In several studies, lycopene has shown to flush out LDL cholesterol, control blood pressure, and reduce stroke risks.

Cocoa is actually grown abundantly in Queensland, and it’s great for heart health. It lowers cardiovascular disease risk and the flavonols in cocoa improve blood vessel function, lower blood pressure, regulate cholesterol levels, and minimises the risk of stroke.

Final Tip on Heart Health

Moderation is still a must to get all the nutrients you need without saturating your body. Hence, a healthy balanced diet is still the key to a strong heart and great all-round health. You can find all of the above-listed fruits and vegetables aplenty in various regions of Queensland, from Brisbane to Rockhampton to Yeppoon!

Looking for refrigerated transport in Yeppoon? Get in contact with us today.